Newsom’s revised budget eases budget worries for UC and Cal State

By Ricardo Cano, EdSource

Higher education leaders were cautiously optimistic in January when Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a proposed budget that included a combined $716.3 million in new base funding for the University of California and California State University. Their sentiment remained largely unchanged Thursday, as Newsom’s revised budget maintained the proposed funding for universities. 

UC and CSU officials breathed a sigh of relief because it wasn’t a given that the funding earmarked in the governor’s January budget would remain intact in his May revision. The state’s university systems do not receive the minimum funding guarantees that TK-12 schools and community colleges get under California’s Proposition 98, and must compete with other dueling priorities covered in the rest of the state budget.

Newsom’s updated budget appropriates $350.6 million in new base funds for UC and $365.7 million for CSU, meaning UC would receive $5.3 billion from the state’s general fund and CSU would get $5.6 billion.

Those funds represent a 5% annual budget increase that had been promised by the state to UC and CSU under a five-year compact agreement. In exchange for the state funding boost, the two university systems must work to raise graduation rates and enroll more in-state residents. 

Newsom’s May proposal would still defer paying out $129.7 million for UC and $143.8 million for CSU until next year. The deferred funds represent a 3% base increase for both systems.

Still, the investments in the state budget would aid California’s public universities as they face intense scrutiny from the Trump administration, which has sought to investigate the institutions and withhold millions of dollars in public research grants.

“The UC funding included in the May revision will help ensure that the university remains affordable and accessible to California students,” UC President James B. Milliken said in a statement. “As the University of California faces ongoing federal funding uncertainty and increasing operational and labor costs, state funding for UC is more important than ever.”

California’s community college system, meanwhile, would receive a $197.7 million increase from the state’s Prop. 98 general fund, reflecting a 4.31% cost-of-living adjustment for TK-12 schools and community colleges.

“Gov. Newsom’s May Revise reflects strong confidence in the California Community Colleges and the critical role we play in California’s economic future,” Chancellor Sonya Christian said in a statement.